‘The World is Not a Safe Place for Men’: The Representational Politics of the Manosphere Mary Lilly Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In fulfillment of the requirements for the MA in Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Mary Lilly, Ottawa, Canada, 2016 Abstract This thesis offers an overview of the representational politics of the online antifeminist community known as the ‘manosphere’. It ana- lyzes how gender and gender politics are represented in the discourse, with an eye to how traditional gender constructs, and traditional gen- dered norms and inequalities, are reproduced. This project—the first study to focus exclusively on the mano- sphere—contributes to our understanding of the community in two ways; it addresses a significant gap in the literature on the topic, and it tests the accuracy of the ‘conventional wisdom’ on the manosphere. Using mixed-methods critical discourse analysis, the study ana- lyzed the discourse of the two primary subcultures of the community, and found that traditional gender norms and relations are reproduced therein, and that for the most part the conventional wisdom is accu- rate: femininity and women are disparaged, masculinity is imagined to be ‘in crisis’ (constantly under siege by feminizing forces), and feminism is represented as hypocritical and oppressive. ii Acknowledgements A thank you to my supervisor, Paul Saurette, who supported me when I needed support, challenged me when I needed to be chal- lenged, for his invaluable guidance, compassion, and expertise, and for all he has helped me to learn over the past almost three years. I thank also my thesis committee, professors Dominique Masson and Kathryn Trevenen, for their generosity and valuable feedback. I am indebted to Kelly Gordon, who introduced me to the topic of my research, provided me with resources I would not have other- wise discovered, and who has always been an insightful and giving mentor. I thank the friends and classmates I had the pleasure of encoun- tering over the course of my time at University of Ottawa, for their diverse perspectives, and for all the ways they helped me to learn, grow, and enjoy my time as a graduate student. I am a reflection of my family, who I thank for their love and constant encouragement. To my best friend, my partner, Paul, to whom I owe countless gratitudes, thank you for all you have done and continue to do to motivate and support me. You help me to laugh through my hardest days and I could not have gotten through this pro- cess without you. To my mom, thank you for believing in me unceas- ingly and for all you do to encourage and to help me. To my Hannah, thank you for standing beside me through all things; thank you for our sisterhood, for always telling me what I need to hear. To my dad, thank you for igniting within me a passion for academia, for the ad- vice you have given me, and for the ways you have motivated me. To my Grams, thank you for your help as well. I learned from you what it means to be a kind, strong, and intelligent woman. Lastly, a thank you to my feminist friends, men and women alike, who helped me to remain positive and optimistic throughout the research process. iii Women’s liberation is the liberation of the feminine in the man and the masculine in the woman. Corita Kent, artist It is not women’s liberation; it is women’s and men’s liberation. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Supreme Court Justice iv Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ....................................... VIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1 1.1 Introduction and Context .................................................... 1 1.2 Research Objectives and Justifications .............................. 3 1.3 Literature Review ................................................................. 6 1.3.1 Political Science .................................................................. 6 1.3.2 Computer-mediated Communications Studies .................... 7 1.3.3 Feminist Analyses of Antifeminism .................................. 12 1.4 Theoretical Framework: Words Matter .......................... 16 1.4.1 Discourse, Language, Power and the Mind ....................... 17 1.4.2 Computer-mediated Communication: A different context 18 1.4.3 Gender and Discourse ....................................................... 21 1.4.4 Intersectional Analysis ...................................................... 22 1.5 Methodology ........................................................................ 26 1.5.1 Hypotheses ........................................................................ 26 1.5.2 Operationalization ............................................................. 28 1.6 Chapter Overview and Author Note ................................. 33 CHAPTER 2: A PRIMER ON THE MANOSPHERE ................. 36 2.1 The Origins of the Manosphere ......................................... 36 2.1.1 Men’s Rights Moves Online .............................................. 39 2.2 Subcultures of the Manosphere ......................................... 43 2.2.1 Men’s Rights Activists ...................................................... 44 2.2.2 Men Going Their Own Way .............................................. 46 2.2.3 Pickup Artists .................................................................... 48 2.2.4 Involuntary Celibates ........................................................ 49 2.3 Concluding Thoughts ......................................................... 50 CHAPTER 3: THE DISPARAGING OF FEMININITY .............. 51 3.1 The Feminine Ideal: Devoted and Subservient ................ 52 v 3.2 Disparaging Representations of Women .......................... 56 3.2.1 Irrational, Emotional Creatures ......................................... 57 3.2.2 Sluts and Boner-killers ...................................................... 60 3.2.3 Negating the Feminine Ideal ............................................. 63 3.3 The Unfeminine Woman .................................................... 66 3.4 Concluding Remarks .......................................................... 70 CHAPTER 4: THE FEMINIZATION OF MASCULINITY .......... 73 4.1 Classical Masculinity as Masculine Ideal ......................... 73 4.1.1 Master of his Domain ........................................................ 74 4.1.2 A Man of Honour .............................................................. 77 4.1.3 Like a Warrior of Old ........................................................ 78 4.2 Masculinity Under Siege .................................................... 80 4.2.1 The Pussification of Man .................................................. 81 4.2.2 The Feminization of Society ............................................. 83 4.3 Concluding Remarks .......................................................... 88 CHAPTER 5: THE MANOSPHERE’S ANTIFEMINISM ........... 89 5.1 The Manosphere versus Feminism: Representations ..... 89 5.1.1 Critiques of Feminism ....................................................... 90 5.1.2 Representations of Feminists ............................................. 95 5.1.3 The MRM: Harbinger of the Non-feminist Revolution .... 98 5.2 Feminist ‘Myths’ ............................................................... 100 5.2.1 The Patriarchy ................................................................. 100 5.2.2 Rape and Domestic Violence ‘Hysteria’ ......................... 101 5.3 Concluding Remarks ........................................................ 108 CHAPTER 6: ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS ............... 109 6.1 Intersectional Analysis: Findings .................................... 109 6.1.1 Race ................................................................................. 110 6.1.2 Sexual Orientation ........................................................... 113 6.1.3 Class ................................................................................ 116 6.1.4 Ablebodiedness ............................................................... 117 6.1.5 Trans Identity .................................................................. 118 6.2 Gendered Discursive Styles ............................................. 119 vi 6.3 Metaphors and their Implications .................................. 122 6.3.1 Metaphors of Violence .................................................... 122 6.3.2 Metaphors for Relationships ........................................... 124 6.4 Concluding Remarks ........................................................ 126 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ............................................. 127 7.1 Summary of Findings ....................................................... 127 7.2 Implications for the Hypotheses ...................................... 128 7.3 The Generalizability and Limitations of the Findings .. 134 7.4 Theoretical and Practical Implications .......................... 135 7.4.1 Implications for the Study of Conservative Politics ........ 135 7.4.2 Implications for Gender Studies and Feminist Politics ... 138 7.4.3 Implications for the Study of Online Communities ........ 143 APPENDIX A: CODING DICTIONARY .............................. 146 BIBLIOGRAPHY: WORKS CITED ..................................... 156 BIBLIOGRAPHY: DATA SET ........................................... 178 vii List of Figures and Tables Figure 1 Positive Versus Negative Representations of Women in the Manosphere .......................................................................